


You’re My Sun On A Cloudy Day

by seamarcc



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, bc I fucking said so, mentions of transphobia, trans!arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 18:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16413752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seamarcc/pseuds/seamarcc
Summary: A boy stumbles into the Pepper Paradiso on a thematically stormy day. The storm does nothing to hide his tears from Ms. Pepper.





	You’re My Sun On A Cloudy Day

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been upset and this is honestly a vent fic  
> also trans arthur because I said so

Rain pelted down onto the pavement, the slamming of running feet barely able to be heard over it. The afternoon sky was dark, and the trees swayed with the strength of the stormy wind. One boy could be seen running in this weather. 

 

Arthur Kingsman stumbled, quickly regaining his speed as he sprinted down the sidewalk. His chest quickly rose and fell with the heaving breaths he took. Arthur was by no means a runner, but the adrenaline kept him pushing. He stumbled once more, his foot slipping on a puddle, and hit the ground. 

 

If anyone was to look, they’d assume he was being chased by something. His swollen puffy eyes were red, showing clear signs of crying even with the rain streaming down his face. His nose was snotty, and the fall he took made his hands and knees bleed, ripping his jeans. But most of all, he scrambled back up and kept running. 

 

He turned a corner— and ran straight into a restaurant named the Pepper Paradiso. The gentle jingle of the bell made the family working look over towards the door, only to see a teen slip on the hardwood floor from the rainwater he tracked in. 

 

“Arthur?” Ms. Pepper questioned, hurrying over and helping him up, blinking at the state he was in. “Arthur, what’s wrong?” The boy she held cried, holding onto her, shaking his head quickly. She purses her lips as she noticed her customers staring, leading him into the backroom behind the kitchen. 

 

She set him down in a chair, moving to grab him a towel. A tight hold on her arm stopped her. “M-Ms. Pepper…” Arthur’s voice shook, trailing off as he took in a breath between his cries. This wouldn’t do. 

 

She knelt in front of him, pushing his flattened, wet hair out of his face. “Breathe, Arthur. I’ll stay right here as long as you need me to. My husband’s got control of the restaurant right now. Breathe with me. In, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4…” She continued to direct his breathing until he’d calmed. Well, calmed enough to not be forced to suck in his breaths. The occasional tear still went down his face. 

 

“C… C-Can I talk to Lewis?” He spoke quietly, his arms wrapping around himself. 

 

“Of course you can. I’ll get him and you a towel, okay?”

 

She waited for his nod before walking out of the backroom, only to notice her oldest daughter, Belle, standing at the door. “Mom, is Arthur okay?”

 

She turned her around, pointing away from the room. “Hey, it’s rude to spy on people. Go get your brother.” Belle ran off, as Ms. Pepper went to a cabinet, pulling out a towel. 

 

Returning to Arthur, she wrapped the towel around his shoulders, rubbing it over his hair. “You’re gonna catch a cold. Lewis can lend you some clothes.” Arthur bit his lip, sniffling and nodding. “Do you want to talk to me about why you came in here looking like you were being chased by a ghost?” He shrugged, leaning against her hands slightly. 

 

She sighed at the silence. She wasn’t mad at him, of course, but frustrated with whatever had him so upset he wouldn’t speak to her. There was a knock on the partially closed door. 

 

“Mom?” Lewis said, “Belle told me that Arthur—” He opened the door as he spoke, eyes widening when he saw his friend. He hurried over, kneeling in front of him. “Arthur, are you okay?”

 

Ms. Pepper took this as her chance to leave. Her son would be able to get Arthur to answer. They were best friends and she knew that Lewis told him things he would never tell her. She shut the door to give them their privacy. 

 

Arthur’s lip trembled, leaning against Lewis, hands held in tight fists. His voice cracked when he spoke after a few moments pause. “They hate me.”

 

They? Lewis frowned, rubbing Arthur’s arm. “Who’s they?” He spoke gently. Arthur hiccuped— he only did that when he’d been crying for a long while, Lewis noted— and his voice managed to come out even smaller than Arthur was curled up into himself. “My parents.”

 

Lewis hugged him tightly, rubbing his back. “Arthur…” Lewis felt his arms wrap around him, fingers clinging to his shirt. “I-I told them..!” Arthur cried out, burying his face into his shoulder. “I c-came out even though I knew I shouldn’t have! I j-just wanted them t-to call me Arthur…!”

 

Lewis’s heart ached for him as he held him closer to his chest. “Th-They hated it…! They d-didn’t want a son a-and after like i-it’s my fault that I-I am..!” 

 

What could Lewis say? He can’t lie and tell him it gets better, when Arthur’s parents loom over him, darker than one of the clouds outside. He didn’t know what to say to make him feel better. 

 

So he held him. He held him like he was his shield, like he could protect him from every harm. If he could, he’d be his knight. He would be Arthur’s umbrella against the pouring rain, his protection from the harsh beat of the sun. He’d be his medicine to his cold, if he could. Lewis wanted to protect him from everything, knowing he could not, so he held him like he would. 

 

Arthur in turn, held onto him like a lifeline. To him, Lewis was his sun to his crops. He wanted to be his sun, his sword, but in this moment as sobs wracked his body, and his fingers dug into Lewis’s shirt, he was not, he thought. But Lewis stayed holding him, and the bitter thoughts of rejection slowly depleted from the dark brew it originally came from. 

 

Two teens held onto each other as if they meant the world to each other. Each thought themselves, wished themselves, to be the other’s moon. Never as great as the gorgeous Earth it circled, but important. They held tight as if the stars themselves were to try and rip them apart. 

 

Arthur took a slow breath. Then another. He slowly pulled away from Lewis, wiping at his eyes. Lewis didn’t want to upset him further, but Arthur’s safety was important. 

 

“Where are you going to go?”

 

The question made Arthur falter. He couldn’t force the Peppers to take him in. But he really… really didn’t want to go back to his parents. It scared him. He shrugged, looking up at Lewis. 

 

“I… don’t know.”

 

Lewis paused, then held his hand out to him. “We’ll figure it out. But you should change. You’ll get a cold in those clothes.”

 

“That’s what your mom said.”  Arthur quietly snorted, reaching out to take his hand. Lewis held his wrist, looking at the newly formed scabs. “Oh. I, uh, fell. I ran here.” Arthur admitted sheepishly. 

 

“Dork.” Lewis held his hand, leading him upstairs to the apartment above. They paid no mind to Ms. Pepper, quietly on the phone about a boy. They went into his bedroom, where Lewis released his hand and took clothes out of a drawer. “Here, wear these. You can toss those clothes in the hamper.”

 

Arthur took the clothes from him as Lewis turned around and covered his eyes. He quickly changed and gave Lewis a small smile. “Thanks, Lewis.”

 

“What are friends for if not to give them clothes after soaking in the rain?” He teased, sitting on his bed with Arthur. “To give you an excuse to not wait tables?” Arthur retorted, smile broadening. 

 

The two boys sat there for a while, talking to one another. It was comforting to be able to tell someone anything you wanted or needed. They both loosened up as they chatted, visibly relaxing. 

 

“Arthur!” Ms. Pepper yelled up the stairs. “Someone’s here for you!” Arthur panicked, looking at Lewis. Ms. Pepper never met his parents, only his uncle. What if his dad was here? Or his mom? What if they called the police? What was he supposed to do?

 

Both the boys stilled as they heard steps coming down the hall, the door slowly opening. A short blond man stood in the doorway, who let out a sigh. “Arthur.”

 

Arthur relaxed. “Uncle Lance! I, um, why are you here?” Hopefully not to take him to his parents. Lance wouldn’t do that. He hoped. What if he would?

 

“Ms. Pepper called me. We’re gonna go home.” Lance blinked at how quickly Arthur teared up, waving his hand. “Hey, my home. My home, kiddo.” 

 

Arthur wiped his eyes. “Really? Why?” Lance walked over, ruffling his hair. “I think you’d have a better time living with me, huh?” Arthur nodded, laughing when Lance started poking his sides. 

 

“Uncle Lance, that tickles! Stop it!”

 

Lewis ducked to the other side of the bed as Lance’s gaze shifted to him. Even as he evaded being tickled, he smiled. It looked like Arthur would be okay after all. 

 

Arthur hugged onto Lance, leaning into his shoulder. “Thank you.” 

 

“I’m here for you, boy.” Lance patted his back, rolling his eyes when Arthur didn’t let go. He shifted his arms under Arthur’s legs, lifting him up. “You’re getting too big for this.”

 

Lance held his nephew close, looking over at Lewis. He flashed him a smile, nodding at him. “You’re free to come over any time, you know that?” Lewis beamed back at him, nodding. “Yes, sir!”

 

“How many times do I gotta tell you to quit it with the sir? Just Lance is fine.”

 

“Okay, Just Lance.”

 

“Smartass.” Lance snorted, walking out of the room. He left the restaurant, setting the young boy in his truck. “Arthur?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You’re gonna be okay. I promise you that.”

 

Arthur hugged him again. He believed his words. And sure enough, he was okay. He struggled at school with getting the hes and hims he wanted, but he always went home to a welcome environment. His friends, and their families who became a family to him, stood by his side. 

 

Lance pulled into his driveway, looking at his nephew obnoxiously singing along to the radio. He’d let this kid stay a kid as long as he could. He was determined to give him a happy childhood. 

 

And that he did. 


End file.
